Aamir's age shouldn't matter: Pak official

Pakistan cricket team's associate manager Shafqat Rana says 18-year-old pace sensation Mohammad Aamir should not be shown any leniency because of his tender age if he is found guilty of spot-fixing charges.

"I do not believe a player's age has any significance in this issue. It is the same for everybody. If Aamir is found to have broken the law, it doesn't matter that he is so young. He should be given the same punishment as anyone else." Rana told reporters.

Rana said even back in Pakistan the general mood is that Aamir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif - all of whom suspended after their names cropped up in a spot-fixing scandal exposed by a British tabloid - should be punished if the charges against them are proved.

"I think that is the feeling back home in Pakistan too.

At home, they want everything to be done in the best spirit of the game," he said.

Rana's comments contradict ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat who feels Aamir's age should be a factor while deciding on the matter.

"In my own honest personal view, yes I would think age would come into account in these matters. But that is something the independent tribunal will have to decide upon," he had said.

Pakistani cricketers' finances are being probed by the tax authorities in the aftermath of the spot-fixing row and Rana and Shahid Afridi welcomed the move.

"I think it is a good thing from the Pakistan government.

It was there in the government's mind before we came over. I think it's a good thing, it will open things out so the players will be very careful," said Rana.

"It should be done and it's good for cricket," added Afridi.

Afridi said the players are being regularly educated about the perils of corruption in the sport.

"The people are coming from the ICC (International Cricket Council) and they are always talking about these things. If you have any problems, you definitely go straight to the (team) manager and talk to him," he said.

"I think we all know about these things so I think the people from ICC are doing their work," he added.

Britain's top judge will next Wednesday hear appeals by Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamer against their sentences for spot-fixing, a judicial official said.
Former Pakistan captain Butt, 27, was on November 3 sentenced to two and a half years in prison and fast bowler Aamer, 19, was sentenced to serve six months in a young offenders institute.